OT: TSN poor coverage of Canadian teams

[DrunkUncleDenis]

Well the fact that people have died fighting in hockey is enough for a lot of people.

There is no fighting in a lot of junior levels and hitting still exits.

Thing is, people have died just playing the game too.

It is a risk you accept as a professional player.

 

[Upgrayedd]

I can't be upset at any of the media coverage. It's just business.

What really grinds my gears are ottawa-area leafs fans that bash the Sens fans for being overrun by leafs fans in the CTC. Dude. You're the problem. You're gloating over your own decision to not support a local team.

I know that fans who grew up with a favourite team romanticize their allegiance. But come on. Be a fan of the local club too.

Very well put, I always get a laugh out of people who root against the city they live/work/were born in

 

[John Holmes*]

The Leafs are unique. Not only are they the top market in the league, they have fans from coast to coast.

Outside of the Habs, no other team even comes close to having that many out of market fans.

It's just the way it is.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Thing is, people have died just playing the game too.

It is a risk you accept as a professional player.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but to say that there is no reason to take fighting out of the game (as said above) is stupid, just pointing out a very real reason.

 

[Benjamin]

CBC just showed highlights of the Edmonton game.

 

[Back in Black]

The Leafs are unique. Not only are they the top market in the league, they have fans from coast to coast.

Outside of the Habs, no other team even comes close to having that many out of market fans.

It's just the way it is.

True Dat! This is why TSN & TBC show more Leafs than any other team!

 

[TheSenator]

Business is business.

 

[aragorn]

The Leafs are unique. Not only are they the top market in the league, they have fans from coast to coast.

Outside of the Habs, no other team even comes close to having that many out of market fans.

It's just the way it is.

Agreed, not much that can be done about it unless some of the kids of these Leaf fans decide to cheer for their home town team instead but then again it could go either way. Winning a cup could change some minds as well.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but to say that there is no reason to take fighting out of the game (as said above) is stupid, just pointing out a very real reason.

I'm wondering if those who are against fighting in the NHL are also lobbying to ban MMA & boxing, two sports that are much more violent & dangerous than hockey? If you want to do it in one sport, we should do it in all sports.

 

[pepty]

It is true that the Leafs have more fans cost to coast than any other team but it is also true that this is partly because of the CBC HNIC decades long relentless promotion of the Leafs.

It is not just a business either-The Leafs are the home team and the obsession of all the Toronto based Canadian sports media, in fact the Leaf fans often seem more level headed than the media.

It is a good thing to yowl about it once in awhile just to remind everyone that we are here instead of meekly taking whatever is being dished out. That all Sens games are televised now and that there is at least some presence of other teams on the national broadcasts has come largely because of pressure from the fans.

 

[aragorn]

It is true that the Leafs have more fans cost to coast than any other team but it is also true that this is partly because of the CBC HNIC decades long relentless promotion of the Leafs.

It is not just a business either-The Leafs are the home team and the obsession of all the Toronto based Canadian sports media, in fact the Leaf fans often seem more level headed than the media.

It is a good thing to yowl about it once in awhile just to remind everyone that we are here instead of meekly taking whatever is being dished out. That all Sens games are televised now and that there is at least some presence of other teams on the national broadcasts has come largely because of pressure from the fans.

I think it goes back to the Leafs & Montreal being original six teams. Most francophones are Habs fans while most anglophones were Leaf fans. I also agree that since all the networks in Canada are mostly based in Toronto (CBC, TSN, Sportsnet) the bias is built in & they play to the large Leaf market. A lot of the analysts too either grew up in Toronto or now live in Toronto & are Leaf fans, Cherry at least is honest about it.

 

[Back in Black]

I also agree that since all the networks in Canada are mostly based in Toronto (CBC, TSN, Sportsnet) the bias is built in & they play to the large Leaf market. A lot of the analysts too either grew up in Toronto or now live in Toronto & are Leaf fans, Cherry at least is honest about it.

Let's not forget most Canadian players come from Southern Ontario and some from Quebec, but mostly Ontario.

 

[sanityplease]

Let's not forget most Canadian players come from Southern Ontario and some from Quebec, but mostly Ontario.

Not entirely true.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ity-has-produced-the-most-nhl-players/page/12

 

[Countdown0]

I'm not disagreeing with you, but to say that there is no reason to take fighting out of the game (as said above) is stupid, just pointing out a very real reason.

No, its not stupid, its correct. People have died do just about anything. If we ban things just because people die doing them, then I guess we'd better ban driving, smoking, airplanes, lawn mowers, stairs, and pretty much everything else in life, because people die doing/using all these things too.

Fighting is part of the culture of the game. Fighting forces other players to have some measure of respect for one another, and the real problem is the instigator rule. Take that out, and if the refs don't hold you accountable for your dirty plays, then the players on the other team will.

Look at what happens when a player runs your goalie. Refs don't always call that. But your team will always notice it. If you take fighting out, and the refs decide not to call it, then there is zero accountability. I have more faith in the players and fighting to keep the dirty players honest than Shanafail or the refs.

Fighting is part of the game because the refs wont always protect you or your team. Your team mates will. If you take it out, you better be able to gaurantee that there will be no dirty hits...

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

No, its not stupid, its correct. People have died do just about anything. If we ban things just because people die doing them, then I guess we'd better ban driving, smoking, airplanes, lawn mowers, stairs, and pretty much everything else in life, because people die doing/using all these things too.

Fighting is part of the culture of the game. Fighting forces other players to have some measure of respect for one another, and the real problem is the instigator rule. Take that out, and if the refs don't hold you accountable for your dirty plays, then the players on the other team will.

Look at what happens when a player runs your goalie. Refs don't always call that. But your team will always notice it. If you take fighting out, and the refs decide not to call it, then there is zero accountability. I have more faith in the players and fighting to keep the dirty players honest than Shanafail or the refs.

Fighting is part of the game because the refs wont always protect you or your team. Your team mates will. If you take it out, you better be able to gaurantee that there will be no dirty hits...

Clearly you're too emotional about the subject to have a real conversation about it.

 

[Countdown0]

Clearly you're too emotional about the subject to have a real conversation about it.

lolwut?

Or maybe you just don't like being disagreed with so you attempt to imply that I'm not worth talking to in an effort to seem like your walking away from 'a fight' and being the 'bigger man' when really you just don't like the possibility that I'm right and you're wrong.

Who can say for certain?

Hockey needs fights more than it needs Crosby. End.

Seriously, what in the post you just quoted was incorrect?

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

lolwut?

Or maybe you just don't like being disagreed with so you attempt to imply that I'm not worth talking to in an effort to seem like your walking away from 'a fight' and being the 'bigger man' when really you just don't like the possibility that I'm right and you're wrong.

Who can say for certain?

Hockey needs fights more than it needs Crosby. End.

Seriously, what in the post you just quoted was incorrect?

You seem to be doing exactly what you're saying I'm doing. For you to say that people dying is not even a valid argument for fighting to be removed from hockey is idiotic.

I've already said that I want fighting to stay in hockey, however, there are plenty of valid reasons to remove it. If you can't at least recognize what I'm saying, then you are too emotional about the subject, disagree all you want but it's true.

Hockey exists without fighting all over the place, it is still hockey.

 

[Countdown0]

You seem to be doing exactly what you're saying I'm doing. For you to say that people dying is not even a valid argument for fighting to be removed from hockey is idiotic.

I've already said that I want fighting to stay in hockey, however, there are plenty of valid reasons to remove it. If you can't at least recognize what I'm saying, then you are too emotional about the subject, disagree all you want but it's true.

Hockey exists without fighting all over the place, it is still hockey.

You don't know me or anything about me, so you're in no position to just say I'm too emotional to talk to about the subject.

When is the last time someone in the NHL died from fighting? And don't say Boogaard. He had the body chemistry of a pharmacy when he died, and fighting wasn't responsible.

When little children play hockey without fighting, that's because they are little kids. Parents make the decisions for them, and no good parents would agree to let their children fight. Any professional league that doesn't have fighting in it is a lower end league, with less talent anyway.

For someone who claims to want fighting to stay, you certainly seem pretty gung-ho about it not being part of a game that needs it.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

You don't know me or anything about me, so you're in no position to just say I'm too emotional to talk to about the subject.

When is the last time someone in the NHL died from fighting? And don't say Boogaard. He had the body chemistry of a pharmacy when he died, and fighting wasn't responsible.

When little children play hockey without fighting, that's because they are little kids. Parents make the decisions for them, and no good parents would agree to let their children fight. Any professional league that doesn't have fighting in it is a lower end league, with less talent anyway.

For someone who claims to want fighting to stay, you certainly seem pretty gung-ho about it not being part of a game that needs it.

lol.

 

[StefanW]

You don't know me or anything about me, so you're in no position to just say I'm too emotional to talk to about the subject.

When is the last time someone in the NHL died from fighting? And don't say Boogaard. He had the body chemistry of a pharmacy when he died, and fighting wasn't responsible.

When little children play hockey without fighting, that's because they are little kids. Parents make the decisions for them, and no good parents would agree to let their children fight. Any professional league that doesn't have fighting in it is a lower end league, with less talent anyway.
For someone who claims to want fighting to stay, you certainly seem pretty gung-ho about it not being part of a game that needs it.

Are you referring to the NFL, the NBA, and every organized sport except for hockey when you say this?

 

[Magix]

It doesn't bother me. But then again, the only intermission stuff I watch is coach's corner and that is just to laugh at grapes.

 

[Stone Valley]

$ is all they care about.

Toronto brings in more views, therefore $

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Are you referring to the NFL, the NBA, and every organized sport except for hockey when you say this?

I've seen fights in the NFL, NBA, and a whole lot of bench clearing brawls in Major League baseball. The NFL (and CFL) fights where they grab a guy's facemask and twist could easily snap a neck. Those basebrawls are complete chaos...who knows what could happen when a guy goes nutso and starts swinging/throwing a piece of a bat or other object (and yes, it has happened). Not to mention the unusually high number of baseball players kicking one another in those melees.

Heck, talking about baseball, on what planet is deliberately throwing a 100mph fastball at a person a good thing to do? You see pitchers do it nearly ever week during the season. That stupid pitch deep inside, or hitting a guy because someone on your roster was hit earlier. All you need is one of those fastballs to slightly get away from the bullseye and hit a guy in the face or combination of the temple and helmet and you have a dead baseball player on your hands.

Hockey definitely isn't the only pro sport with fighting.

 

[Quo]

But hockey is the only one of the pro sports mentioned to have fighting ingrained as a regular part of the game. Bench clearing brawls are a relatively rare phenomenon in the NFL, NBA and MLB.

I will say though that I think it's very unlikely that we'll see a massive concussion lawsuit like that filed by NFL players come to the NHL. According to every report I've read/seen hockey has been historically proactive and forthcoming about the risk of head injury that exists in the game and fighting. In comparison, the NFL did their best to obfuscate and deny the issue which is probably why they were so eager to settle.

I am a fan of fighting and would support abolishing the instigator rule.

 

[hockeycoach]

...
It is a good thing to yowl about it once in awhile just to remind everyone that we are here instead of meekly taking whatever is being dished out.
...
That all Sens games are televised now and that there is at least some presence of other teams on the national broadcasts has come largely because of pressure from the fans.

Exactly!
And to those who said 'writing a letter to TSN does nothing' just don't get it.
I refuse to sit back and take it, write a letter, talk about it on an open forum,
tweet it from the tallest tree.

sorry couldn't resist the last one.

Bottom line, if you sit back and do nothing, that is what you'll get.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

You seem to be doing exactly what you're saying I'm doing. For you to say that people dying is not even a valid argument for fighting to be removed from hockey is idiotic.

I've already said that I want fighting to stay in hockey, however, there are plenty of valid reasons to remove it. If you can't at least recognize what I'm saying, then you are too emotional about the subject, disagree all you want but it's true.

Hockey exists without fighting all over the place, it is still hockey.

People have died from having heart attacks while playing. People have died from having arteries slashed by skates. People have croaked after going head first into the boards. Some kid's heart even stopped after getting hit in the chest by a slap shot.

I guess we should ban everything about hockey that is dangerous. We should cover all the players in nerf fabric, replace the ice with a trampoline and skate blades with beanie babies and have players bounce their way to goals scored by pool noodles smacking foam balls around.

Hockey is a dangerous game and it always will be.